Storage container

ABSTRACT

A storage container in which the status of an opening is easily viewable includes: an inner container ( 10 ) with an opening ( 130 ); an outer container ( 20 ) being slidably attached to the inner container ( 10 ); a plurality of through holes ( 30 ) arranged in a matrix pattern on the first cover part ( 21 ); a first display ( 40 ) provided on one surface ( 12 ) and located at the position where the first display ( 40 ) is visible in a first state (S 1 ) via the plurality of through holes ( 30 ); and a second display ( 50 ) provided on the one surface ( 12 ) and located at the position where the second display ( 50 ) is visible in a second state (S 2 ) via the plurality of through holes ( 30 ).

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/JP2012/052822, filed Feb. 8, 2012, which claims the benefit of Japanese Application No. 2011-024798, filed Feb. 8, 2011, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to storage containers, especially relates to storage containers that store confectionary or medicine, such as granular confectionery or medicine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the past, a granular material storage container that was equipped with an inside container that stores granular material, and had an opening from which the granular material can be removed, and an outside container slidably mounted to the inside container, that covers the opening was proposed as a granular material storage container for storing granular confectionary or medicine. (For example, see patent publications 1 and 2.)

With this kind of granular material storage container, changing a closed state in which an opening is covered by the outside container and an opened state in which the opening is not covered by the outside container are easily accomplished by sliding the outside container over the inside container. This makes it easy to remove granular material stored in the inside container.

-   Patent Publication 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First     Publication No. 2008-133000 -   Patent Publication 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First     Publication No. 2009-83896

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

With the granular material storage container proposed in patent publications 1 and 2, when the user wants to remove the granular material, the user slides the outside container to open the opening. However, with the granular material storage container proposed in patent publications 1 and 2, the user must carefully examine whether the inside container and outside container are overlapping to determine whether the opening is in an opened or closed state. For that reason, if the granular material storage container is carried about without the user realizing that the opening is in an opened state, the granular material stored inside can fall out and become scattered.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a storage container that makes it easy to visually discern the status of the opening.

Means for Solving the Problems

The present invention is a storage container comprising: an inside container being a box-shape capable of storing a material, having an opening for removal of the material; an outside container having a first cover that covers a surface of the inside container, and a second cover that covers the opening, the outside container being slidably mounted to the inside container; a plurality of transparent portions disposed on the first cover in a form of a matrix, each of the transparent portions being mutually separated predetermined distances; a first display disposed on a surface of the inside container at a position that is visible in a first aspect through the plurality of transparent portions, in a first state where the outside container overlaps the inside container; and a second display disposed on the surface of the inside container at a position that is visible in a second aspect through the plurality of transparent portions, in a second state where the outside container is slid from the first state a first length.

The present invention is a storage container comprising: an inside container being a box-shape capable of storing a material, having an opening formed in a surface for removal of the material; an outside container having a first cover that covers the surface of the inside container, slidably mounted to the inside container; a plurality of transparent portions disposed on the first cover in a form of a matrix, each of the transparent portions being mutually separated predetermined distances; a first display disposed on a surface of the inside container at a position that is visible in a first aspect through the plurality of transparent portions, in a first state where the outside container overlaps the inside container; and a second display disposed on the surface of the inside container at a position that is visible in a second aspect through the plurality of transparent portions, in a second state where the outside container is slid from the first state a first length.

Effects of the Invention

With the storage container of the present invention, it is easy to visually discern the status of the opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the storage container seen from a top side, according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the storage container of the first embodiment seen from a bottom side;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the storage container of the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an inside container of the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the inside container shown in FIG. 4 seen from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an outside container of the first embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a first state of the storage container of the first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a second state of the storage container of the first embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing an inside container of a second embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a second state of the storage container of the second embodiment; and

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the storage container of a third embodiment.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   -   1 Storage container     -   10 Inside container     -   12 Top side     -   20 Outside container     -   21 First cover     -   22 Second cover     -   30 Through hole     -   40 First display     -   50 Second display     -   130, 131 Opening     -   L3 First length     -   S1 First aspect     -   S2 Second aspect

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Preferred embodiments of the storage container according to the present invention will now be explained with reference to the drawings provided. First, a first embodiment of the storage container 1 of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1-8.

Generally, storage container 1 of the first embodiment stores a plurality of granular materials including confectionary articles, such as tablets (not shown) as granular confectionary material having planar shapes like circles or triangles and the like. For example, the planar view size of confectionary tablets stored in the storage container 1 can be 2 mm-10 mm, and tablet thickness can be 1 mm-10 mm. Note that the storage container 1 is not limited to storing confectionery tablets.

Many other types of confectionery articles, such as chewing gums or hard candies, also can be stored in the storage container 1, as well as other materials, such as medicines.

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the storage container 1 is composed of an inside container 10 comprising an opening 130 (see FIG. 3), an outside container 20 slidably mounted to the inside container 10, a plurality of through holes 30 (transparent portions) formed in the outside container 20, and a first display 40 and a second display 50 positioned on the inside container 10. Note that the transparent portions are not limited to through holes. If they are see-through, any material that is more transparent than the surrounding material is acceptable.

The inside container 10 has a hollow, box-shape structure for storing confectionary articles, such as tablets. To describe this in more detail, as shown in FIGS. 3-5, the inside container 10 has a rectangular shaped bottom surface 11 and top surface 12. It is also acceptable to be a rectangular parallelepiped with a shorter thickness than the length of the width directions of the bottom surface 11 and top surface 12.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the opening 130 is established in the side surface 13 positioned along a length direction X of the inside container 10. This opening 130 is formed to be larger in size than the confectionary articles, such as tablets, stored inside, and is positioned at one end of the length direction X in the side surface 13.

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the outside container 20 has a first cover 21 that covers the top surface 12 which is one surface of the inside container 10, and a second cover 22 that covers the side surface 13 where the opening 130 is established, and is slidably mounted to the inside container 10.

According to the first embodiment, the outside container 20 comprises the first cover portion 21, the pair of second cover portions 22, and a third cover portion 23 that covers the bottom surface 11 of the inside container 10, and is configured into a shape that is one-size larger than the outer shape of the inside container 10. More specifically, the outside container 20 is configured to be of a size such that the inside surface of the outside container 20 is in contact with the outside surface of the inside container 10, or is configured to be of a size such that there is a small space between the inside surface of the outside container 20 and the outside surface of the inside container 10. Furthermore, the outside container 20 is slidably mounted in the length direction X of the inside container 10.

A plurality of through holes 30 are established in the first cover portion 21. As shown in FIG. 6, the plurality of through holes 30 is arranged in a matrix with predetermined gaps set between each hole. With the first embodiment, the plurality of through holes 30 are arranged in lines along a length direction X of the outside container 20, and in rows along a width direction of the outside container 20.

Each through hole of the plurality of holes 30 is formed into a square shape in a planar view, and is arranged so that one diagonal line of the square shape lines up along the length direction of the outside container 20. However, shapes of the transparent portions are not limited to squares. They may be any shape, such as circles, ovals, diamonds, rectangles or star shapes.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a length L1 between two adjacent through holes 30 is longer than the length (the length of a diagonal line) L2 of a pair of opposing vertices in a through hole 30.

The storage container 1 described above can change the position of the outside container 20 between a closed state (see FIG. 7), which is the first state wherein the opening 130 is covered by the outside container 20 and the inside container 10 overlapping, and an opened state (see FIG. 8) wherein the opening 130 is opened by sliding the outside container 20 from this closed state in a length direction X (direction X1 in FIG. 7).

As shown in FIG. 4, a first display 40 and a second display 50 are positioned on the top surface 12 of the inside container 10.

The first display 40 is composed of a plurality of round first patterns 41 prepared with a predetermined coloration. Each first pattern of the plurality of first patterns 41 is located at a position overlapping a through hole of a predetermined plurality of through holes 30 of the plurality of through holes 30 in the closed state of the storage container 1. Also, a surface area of each first pattern of the plurality of first patterns 41 is preferred to be larger than the open area (transparent portion) of each through hole of the plurality of through holes 30. However, it is acceptable that the pattern is equivalent in size or smaller than the open area (transparent portion) of each through hole 30.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the storage container 1 is in a closed state, the first display 40 can be seen as a first aspect S1 through the plurality of through holes 30. For example, with the first embodiment, the first display 40 can be viewed to read the characters “ICE” as the first aspect S1. Although there are no particular limitations, it is preferred that the characters in the first aspect S1 show something to identify the product so it is visible when distributed as a commercial product, or something that will be good at stimulating demand, such as the confectionary article product name, its qualities or other features and the like.

As shown in FIG. 4, the second display 50 is composed of a plurality of round second patterns 51 prepared with predetermined coloration. Each second pattern of the plurality of second patterns 51 is arranged at a position overlapping a through hole of a predetermined plurality of through holes 30 of the plurality of through holes 30, in the second state (see FIG. 8), which is the opened state wherein the outside container 20 slides a first length L3 from the closed state of the storage container 1. More specifically, the second display 50 is set at a position that is offset with regard to the first display 40 a first length L3 in the length direction of the inside container 10, as shown in FIG. 4. Also, the surface area of each second pattern of the plurality of second patterns 51 is preferably larger than the open area (transparent portion) of each through hole of the plurality of through holes 30. However, in the same way as with the first display 40, surface areas of each of second display 50 may also be equivalent in size or smaller than open areas (transparent portion) of each of the plurality of through holes 30.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the second state of the storage container 1, the second display 50 is visible through the plurality of through holes 30 as a second aspect S2 that is different from the first aspect S1. For example, with the first embodiment, the second display 50 can be seen as a picture that is patterned of an animal as the second aspect S2. There is no particular limitation to the second display 50, but it is preferred that the change is distinct from the first display 40. For example, if characters were adopted for the first display 40, the second display 50 could be any pattern other than characters, or an alternative set of characters. Furthermore, with the first embodiment, the second state of the storage container 1 is the opened state where the opening 130 is opened the first length L3.

In light of easily removing confectionary articles from the opening 130, it is preferred that the first length L3 is 1.0-1.5 times the size of the confectionary article (for example, the longest portion in the planar view).

With the first embodiment, only the first display 40 and the second display 50 are displayed on the top surface of the inside container 10. Specifically, there is a region without a display established between the plurality of first patterns 41, and the plurality of second patterns 51, arranged adjacent to the plurality of first patterns 41. The region without a display is not limited to the entire region between the first pattern 41 and the second pattern 51, and a portion of such region is acceptable. With the present invention, being without a display is not limited to being plain, and also includes having patterns (such as flowers), designs, colors or characters that are unrelated (specifically, as a background that is not associated with the through holes 30 positions) to the first pattern 41 and the second pattern 51 on a portion of the inside container 10. However, in view of making the change in the display from the first aspect S1 to the second aspect S2 more distinct, it is preferable that this is plain (though this not limited to being white, and can be any set color), so that what the user sees through the through holes 30 does not change even when the outside container 20 is slid.

The storage container 1 is used in the following way.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 7, when a plurality of confectionary articles stored in the storage container 1 is not being removed, the container is in a closed state with the inside container 10 and outside container 20 overlapping. In this state, the opening 130 is covered by the outside container 20, so that the confectionary articles stored inside will not spill out of the inside container 10. In this state (the closed state), the characters “ICE” are displayed on the top surface of the storage container 1 as the first aspect S1.

To remove a plurality of confectionary articles that are stored in the storage container 1, the user slides the outside container 20 from the closed state of the storage container 1 in the length direction X (the direction X1 shown in FIG. 7). Here, as shown in FIG. 8, when the user slides the outside container 20 the first length L3, a figure patterned on an animal is visible on the top surface of the storage container 1 as a second aspect S2. With this, the user can recognize that the opening 130 has been opened the first length L3 which is the favorable length to remove the confectionary articles. Also, in this state, the desired number of confectionary articles can be removed from the opening 130.

The following effects are attained using the storage container 1 of the first embodiment described above.

(1) A first display 40 established on the inside container 10 can be seen in the first aspect S1 through the plurality of through holes 30 when the opening 130 is in a closed state, and a second display 50 that is disposed can be seen as in the second aspect S2 that is different from the first aspect S1 through the through holes 30 when the opening 130 is in an opened state. With this configuration, when the user can see the display of the first aspect S1, the user of the storage container 1 can easily recognize that the opening 130 is in a closed state. For that reason, the user can easily see the state of the opening 130, so the stored will not be scattered by the user carrying the storage container 1 without noticing that the opening 130 is in an opened state.

(2) A plurality of through holes 30 is formed in square shapes in the planar view; the plurality of through holes 30 is arranged in so that one diagonal line lines up along the sliding direction (length direction X) of the outside container 20. For that reason, because the through holes 30 which are adjacent in row directions and line directions are arranged with their vertices facing each other, visibility of the first aspect S1 and the second aspect S2 is improved through the plurality of through holes 30.

(3) The length L1 between two adjacent through holes 30 is longer than the length L2 of a pair of opposing vertices in the through holes 30. With this, when the first display 40 and plurality of through holes 30 are in an overlapped state, the second display 50 is positioned between two adjacent through holes 30. Also, when the second display 50 and plurality of through holes 30 are in an overlapped state, the first display 40 is positioned between two adjacent through holes 30. This prevents the user from being able to see the first aspect S1 and the second aspect S2 simultaneously.

(4) The opening 130 is disposed at one end of the length direction X, and the first length L3 is 1.0-1.5 times longer than a confectionary article size. With this, by sliding the outside container 20 until the second state S2 is visible, the opening 130 is opened only the first length L3 which is the optimal length to remove confectionary articles. Therefore, by the user sliding the outside container 20 while watching the appearance of the display on the top surface of the storage container 1, the user can easily recognize the proper opened state of the opening 130.

(5) The surface areas of the plurality of first pattern 41 and the surface areas of the plurality of second pattern 51 can be larger than the surface areas of the openings of the plurality of through holes 30. Because of this, the visibility of the first aspect S1 and the second aspect S2 are maintained even if the outside container 20 is slightly mis-positioned (for example approximately 1 mm) on the inside container 10.

(6) A region with no display is established between the plurality of first pattern 41, and the second pattern 51 that are arranged each adjacent to the plurality of first pattern 41. Because of this, when the user slides the outside container 20 thereby changing the storage container 1 from the closed state to the opened state, a state is interposed where neither display of the first aspect S1 or the second aspect S2 exists. Therefore, it is possible to clearly recognize that the display has changed from the first aspect S1 to the second aspect S2.

Next, a second embodiment of the storage container 1 of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the inside container 10 of the second embodiment; and FIG. 10 is a plan view of the second state of the storage container 1 of the second embodiment. To simplify the explanation of the second embodiment, the same symbols used for the same configuring elements will be omitted from the explanation.

Mainly, the storage container 1 of the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment with the first length L3A. To explain in more detail, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the first length L3A is configured to be substantially equivalent to the length of the opening 130 in the length direction. Also, a second display 50A is disposed at a position offset the first length L3A of the inside container 10 in the length direction with regard to the first display 40.

According to the second embodiment, in addition to the effects of (1)-(6) above, the following effects are attained.

(7) The first length L3A is configured to be substantially equivalent to the length of the length direction of the opening 130. For that reason, by sliding the outside container 20 until the second aspect S2 is visible, it is easy to recognize that the opening 130 is fully opened.

Next, a third embodiment of the storage container 1 of the present invention will now be explained with reference to FIG. 11. FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing the storage container 1 of a third embodiment.

The storage container 1 of the third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that an opening 131 is established on the top surface 12. To explain this configuration in more detail, with the third embodiment, the opening 131 is disposed near the boundary with the side surface 13 at an end of the length direction X. However, the opening 131 could be disposed in any position on the top surface 10. Furthermore, with the third embodiment, the opening 131 is covered by the first cover 21.

With the storage container 1 of the third embodiment, effects (1)-(5), described above, are attained.

Preferred embodiments of the storage container 1 of the present invention have been explained above, but they are not to be construed as limitations. A variety of configurations can be implemented.

For example, with the first to the third embodiments, confectionary articles are stored in the inside container 10, but the inside container is not limited to that. For example, the inside container 10 can store medicinal articles, such as medicine that is in a granulated form.

Furthermore, with the first to the third embodiments, the outside container 20 has a square-sheath shape that includes a first cover 21, a pair of second covers 22 and a third cover 23, but the outside container 20 is not limited to this. More specifically, the outside container can be composed of a first cover and a pair of second covers, and can be configured to cover only the top surface of the inside container and pair of side surfaces thereof.

Furthermore, with the first to the third embodiments, only the first display and second display were established. However, it is acceptable to dispose another display that is visible between the first aspect and the second aspect, or when the outside container is slid a distance that is longer than the first length. This configuration enables the user to enjoy changes in displays on the storage container 1 even more.

Furthermore, with the first to the third embodiments, the first display is not visible in the second aspect, but it is acceptable for a portion or all of the first display to be visible in the second aspect. In the same way, it is also acceptable for a portion or all of the second display to be visible in the first aspect.

Also, with the first to the third embodiments, surface areas of the first pattern 41 and second pattern 51 are circles that are larger than the surface areas of the plurality of through holes 30. However, this is not to be construed as a limitation. The first pattern and second pattern may be formed to be the same shapes and sizes as the through holes.

Still further, with the first to the third embodiments, the through holes 30 have a square shape. Again, this is not to be construed as a limitation. More specifically, the through holes may be formed into other shapes such as circles, ovals or stars and the like. 

1. A storage container comprising: an inside container being a box-shape capable of storing a material, having an opening for removal of the material; an outside container having a first cover that covers a surface of the inside container, and a second cover that covers the opening, the outside container being slidably mounted to the inside container; a plurality of transparent portions disposed on the first cover in a form of a matrix, each of the transparent portions being mutually separated predetermined distances; a first display disposed on a surface of the inside container at a position that is visible in a first aspect through the plurality of transparent portions, in a first state where the outside container overlaps the inside container; and a second display disposed on the surface of the inside container at a position that is visible in a second aspect through the plurality of transparent portions, in a second state where the outside container is slid from the first state a first length.
 2. The storage container according to claim 1, wherein the storage container is a granular material storage container.
 3. The storage container according to claim 1, wherein each transparent portion of the plurality of transparent portions is formed into a square shape in a planar view, and one diagonal line of each transparent portion of the plurality of transparent portions is disposed along a sliding direction of the outside container.
 4. The storage container according to claim 1, wherein a length between two adjacent transparent portions is longer than a length between a pair of vertices in each transparent portion of the plurality of transparent portions.
 5. The storage container according to claim 1, wherein the opening is disposed at an end of a surface of the inside cover covered by the second cover, and the first length is 1.0 to 1.5 times the size of the material.
 6. A storage container comprising: an inside container being a box-shape capable of storing a material, having an opening formed in a surface for removal of the material; an outside container having a first cover that covers the surface of the inside container, slidably mounted to the inside container; a plurality of transparent portions disposed on the first cover in a form of a matrix, each of the transparent portions being mutually separated predetermined distances; a first display disposed on a surface of the inside container at a position that is visible in a first aspect through the plurality of transparent portions, in a first state where the outside container overlaps the inside container; and a second display disposed on the surface of the inside container at a position that is visible in a second aspect through the plurality of transparent portions, in a second state where the outside container is slid from the first state a first length.
 7. The storage container according to claim 1, wherein the first display comprises a plurality of a first pattern, and the second display comprises a plurality of a second pattern; and a region without a display is established in at least a portion between the plurality of the first pattern and the plurality of the second pattern disposed adjacent to each of the plurality of the first pattern. 